1. Narrow escape
An Australian prisoner escaped a maximum-security prison in Sydney after losing enough weight from fasting and laxatives to slip through a gap he had chiselled with a butter knife. Robert Cole, 37, was recaptured three days later.
2. Short circuit
One hundred and fifty homes in Middlestone Moor, Durham, were left without electricity when a dog cocked its leg on a faulty power cable. "There was an almighty explosion and the whole street lit up," says the owner, Gary Davies.
3. Clear and present danger
Secret service agents dragged a 14-year-old girl from her classroom in California for posting the words "Kill Bush" on her MySpace page.
4. Help, I need somebody
A 105-year-old Chinese man has advertised for a wife. Gong Duruo, a doctor from Hebei Province, wants a woman half his age who "had better have a history in medical practice or literature, as I need assistance writing a book on health."
5. Scaredy cats
Animal rights activists in Switzerland who broke into a circus intending to liberate a rare white tiger quickly changed their minds when they saw the animal up close. After a hurried rethink, they opted for a pet rabbit belonging to the clown's six-year-old daughter.
